U.S. stock futures were mixed on Wednesday as yesterday’s tech sector rally appears to be losing momentum.
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Dow futures were up 0.15%, S&P futures were down 0.2% and Nasdaq futures had slipped 0.6% at the time of writing. The tech-heavy Nasdaq closed 3.7% higher on Tuesday.
Investors are waiting for earnings results from Adidas (ADDYY), Lukoil (LUKOY) and Harvard Bioscience (HBIO) before the bell, while Oracle (ORCL), Franco-Nevada (FNV) and GDS Holdings (GDS) are expected to report after the market closes.
Exela Technologies (XELA) was the most actively traded stock at the time of writing after receiving a letter from The Nasdaq informing the company that it had regained Nasdaq compliance. The business process automation company rallied 180% on Tuesday after announcing that it had won a $90 million contract to deliver health solutions to a major, unnamed US insurer.
Cemtrex (CETX) was the biggest gainer in the pre-market session, rising 126%, followed by MediciNova (MNOV) and Exela (XELA), which were up 70% and 50%, respectively.
Biggest pre-market losers were Sundance Energy Australia (SNDE), down 37%, INVO Bioscience (INVO), 16% weaker, and GT Biopharma (GTBP), which looked set to open 12% lower.
In corporate earnings news, AeroVironment (AVAV) gained almost 4% on Tuesday after reporting better-than-expected Q3 results. Adjusted earnings of $0.14 per share beat Street estimates of $0.00 and increased from a loss of $0.01 per share recorded in the prior-year quarter. Revenues rose 27% year-over-year to $78.8 million and exceeded the consensus estimate of $75.46 million.
Everi Holdings (EVRI) rose 3.4% after the bell yesterday in response to its better-than-expected Q4 results. Casino closures and capacity limitations provided significant hurdles for the company, which despite the challenges, managed to deliver earnings of $0.01 per share and beat analysts’ expectations. Revenues of $119.6 million declined 17.6% year-over-year but came in ahead of the consensus estimate of $115.8 million.
Cantel Medical (CMD) ended 4% higher yesterday after posting better-than-expected Q2 results. Adjusted earnings of $0.79 per share grew 29.5% year-over-year and beat analysts’ expectations of $0.50. Adjusted net sales of $294 million also beat estimates of $276.63 million and inched up 1.1% from the year-ago period. “We remain very optimistic with elevated uptake for our infection prevention consumable products as enhanced infection prevention protocols become standard practice,” said Cantel’s CEO George Fotiades.
Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS) fell over 6% despite reporting an 84% year-on-year increase in adjusted EPS to $2.43. Net sales jumped 20% to $3.13 billion, topping analysts’ expectations of $3.07 billion. The company projects net sales of between $9.5 billion to $9.9 billion for 2021, versus consensus estimates of $9.6 billion. Last week, Dick’s raised its quarterly cash dividend by 16% to $0.36 per share.
Oak Street (OSH) lost $0.40 per share in Q4, significantly more than the $0.27 per share loss that the Street was expecting. Meanwhile, revenues grew 43% year-over-year to $248.7 million and exceeded analysts’ expectations of $231.8 million. The company expects revenues of between $280 million and $285 million in Q1, which is well above the consensus estimate of $276.2 million.
